Good Plans

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." - Jeremiah 29:11

"Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar." - Psalm 42:5-6

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." - II Corinthians 4:6

Dear God,

You have good plans for me. You plan to give me hope and a future. Heaven is an amazing promise in the future. Glimpses of heaven today are also amazing.

Thank You.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen

The Light of the World

And again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." - John 8:12

"But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day." - Proverbs 4:18

"And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever." - Revelation 22:5

Dear God, 

You are the light of the world. I will never live in darkness. I will have the light that gives life. Your light goes before me showing me the path You want me to follow. That path will one day lead me to heaven because I love You. Your light will shine in all its glory in heaven. In heaven, there will never be night. Thank You for the light of life.

Thank You.

In Jesus' Name, 

Amen

The Path

"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." - I Corinthians 10:13

"So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight." - II Corinthians 5:6-7

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:6

"You make known to me the oath of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." - Psalm 16:11

Dear God,

The path of life has a wonderful destination in heaven. You are walking with me. You know everything that will happen on my path. You see the whole path even when I can only see a small part. Help me to trust You and to walk by faith. 

Thank You.

In Jesus' Name, 

Amen

Prayer

I can't read my devotionals right now and I can't write what I learn. Hopefully I'll get time to do so this weekend. Right now my heart really aches for Heaven. As I join with many others whom Congress forgot they work for just to protect their pockets (they love money too much which is the root of evil), we, the least of these, cry out. Will the children with special needs still have services Monday? Will the disabled like myself ever have their day to fight for their disability because they received a letter declaring they couldn't work the jobs they had before because of their disabling conditions? Will they even still have a house when that day might finally come? Will they have food to eat tomorrow? Will they have access to services like voc rehab as they fight their disabling conditions to try to get ready to get a job that just simply doesn't exist for them because no one wants to hire someone who has medical conditions that cannot be insured until next year? What about the veterans like my mother who may not even have a job or access to much needed health services? What about everyone with mental health issues, asthma, allergies, immune deficiencies? Without the grants many of the doctors get now, some people, like me, may not be able to receive essential care. Why? Because of greedy politicians who forgot that the tax system was originally designed so that the more money a person earned, the more they paid in. Jesus said that how you treat the least of these is how you treat Him. The problem? Apparently no one has respect for Jesus anymore. They just threw Him out on the street, cold, naked, wounded, hungry, thirsty. And they left Him. To die. Here Jesus. I don't have much either but you can have some of what I do have. Where are the churches now? Will they finally step up to the plate as millions right here at home need them now more than ever? The churches I know of emphasize global missions for an entire week, yet home missions gets all of one day. ONE day! Why? If churches really wanted to equip people to go out and serve, it seems they would be in the business of home missions for more than just one day? But are they? I'm scared tonight. I'm scared of everything. I'm scared that there really is no church in my area that will ever accept and include adults with special needs. I'm scared that Tom is not really my friend even though he says he is. Because he and I have not had in person time in three months and will we ever? Or is it a dying friendship? I hope not but I'm scared. And I'm sick with grief. Too much injustice. You see, they call people who care about the least of these socialists and say there is no place for socialism in America. Sadly, if caring about the least of these makes someone a socialist, then Jesus was a socialist because he cared. But if there's no room for socialism in America, and many of these same people falsely claim that America was founded on Christian beliefs, then what they have basically said is that there is no room for Jesus in America. Oh how my heart aches for Heaven right now.